1-216-988 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The ruins of Sardis, Lydia, Turkey, c1890. Lydia became the western capital of the Persian Empire after the overthrow in 546 BC of King Croesus by Cyrus the Great of Persia. Alexander the Great conquered Lydia in 334 BC. After his death, Sardis became part of the Seleucid kingdom, and later came under Roman control. Sardis was the site of one of the Seven Churches of Asia (Revelation 3:1). The town was destroyed by Tamerlane in 1402. Archaeological excavations began in 1910, but the city itself was not fully uncovered until 1958. An engraving from Robert Brown's The Countries of the World, published by Cassell, (London & Paris, c1890).